“I don’t think that scenario’s happening.”

“Let me finish?” I asked. I poked her.

“Fine.”

“I love her like family. She’s been there for me, and no matter what happens I want to do right by her. Part of that is keeping an eye out for answers.”

“She’s doing so well, though,” Vista said.

“Maybe,” I said. “I’d like to do something.”

Vista nodded. Looking down at the table in front of her, she turned a piece of art around and smoothed out the paper where the edges rolled in.

“Orchard,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“They’ve been active for a long time. They were in Boston. Not big, but they’ve earned enough to buy their way out of trouble. Good lawyers, staying off the radar, moving around a lot. And they manipulate biology. They’re about as scummy as they get, Victoria.”

“Okay,” I said. “They sound vaguely familiar. I’ll look them up, see if I have any notes.”

“You do. You gave the Wardens access to all your files, and we pulled those files for the mission where they’re bringing them in later this week. Or they hope to. If you really want to do this, then I can ask for our people to keep them in custody.”

“It’s worth asking, at least. I’ll see what strings I can pull, if they can really do anything.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the conference room. I could make out Sveta’s silhouette, because the blinds reached the floor and Sveta was wearing a dress that hid the tendrils that reached down to the floor.

“You’re really spooked about this. I get it if you’re left out and I know how much that hurts, really, but that’s not it is it?”

Spooked? Scared?

Yeah.

I chewed on my lip rather than say anything. I nodded.

“I don’t really get it, but I’m sorry,” Vista said.

“Thanks,” I said.

“I’m also really sorry for whoever gets this costume,” Vista said. She slid paper across the table. I looked down, and I laughed. It looked like something the Super Magic Dream Parade would wear. Taffeta puff sleeves, puffy collar, and puffy shorts. The drawing had the person’s hair in a small afro as well. There were some variations playing off of different color schemes and design touches for different example powers. There was a male and female variant, as well. If it were one image I would have called it an exercise or a bit of artistic exploration, but this looked like a complete workup.

“How? Why? Do I need to worry about the people I’m working with?” Vista asked, her expression somewhere between horror and amusement.

“Probably. But I think having something like this would be strategic,” I said. “Hold this over someone’s head, get them to behave. Or set their expectations really low, first.”